Customer Reviews

Wonderfulness

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr. (7/12/37) has been a stand-up comic and a presence on the American scene since the early 1960s. This RHINO CD reissue of his fourth WARNER BROS. LP, WONDERFULNESS (1966, WS 1634) is Cosby in his prime. Tracks are from live performances at HARRAH's in Lake Tahoe, NV.

Also starring: Crying Charley / Old Weird Harold / Bill's Fainting Ma / Doris from Cooking Class / Johnson and Rudolph / Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon Leonard / Cream O' Wheat / About 3,000,000 Kids / 900 Cop Cars / And a Monster Chicken Heart (from LP's back cover)


Cosby has always been at his best when relating stories (real or imagined) of his boyhood; there's a wealth of such material on this album. In "Tonsils," Bill's been promised all the ice cream he can eat once the tonsillectomy is over. "Go Carts" is a brilliant recreation of an insane downhill race between rickety carts with baby carriage wheels and brakes made from short lengths of 2 × 4's.

"Lumps" explains why our narrator cannot stand a certain brand of mush. "Chicken Heart" may be this album's most famous track. Here, young Cos' spreads JELLO on the kitchen floor to keep monsters away, then tunes into his favorite scary radio show, "Lights OUT!!" And there's more: school vignettes, playground moments and the events that make childhood a trial while living it yet a fond memory in retrospect.

PROGRAM--

SIDE ONE
[15:19] Tonsils
[3:21] The Playground
[1:39] Lumps
[5:40] Go Carts

SIDE TWO
[12:28] Chicken Heart
[2:13] Shop
[1:24] Special Class
[4:52] Niagara Falls
TOTAL TIME: 46:56

I remember listening to this when I was young and almost busted my gut with laughter! While Cosby is known today primarily as a TV actor, he was first a stand-up comedian, and a very good one. He released several outstanding comedy albums during the 1960s and some of his routines have gone on to become part of the American culture. This is one of his best albums and is family friendly. Tonsils and Chicken Heart are still two of my favorite routines of all time!

This album was certified PLATINUM by the RIAA for sales in excess of 1 million copies in the US.

Bill Cosby's humor is timeless,aside from his chicken heart story which today's young people wouldn't find as funny having not been around when we listened to programs on the radio alone. The rest of his stories could easily happen today. His ability to take the ordinary situations in life and extract the humor is a real gift and his story telling is unmatched by anyone's standards. Go carts are still used, though I don't think kids make their own any more. Cream of wheat still makes lumps and getting your tonsils out still hurts. Some things just don't change, thank goodness, and we join together to laugh and laugh.

This brought back many memories. My brothers and I use to listen to my parenst vinal copy of this. Chicken Heart will always make me laugh. Good clean humor, fun for all ages and timeless.

Bill Cosby
Wonderfulness

Among all the great albums that Bill Cosby has created, this is THE greatest. Everybody ought to have a copy of this one. This deserves a Sixth Star

Even though this record is over 40 years old, it still continues to delight.
"Chicken Heart" never fails to conjure up images of Cosby's mischievous childhood nature. I was very happy that it was still available.

My brothers and I grew up with this vinyl album! We played it all the time on the record player and could recite all the stories! Shared them with our kids. Now we're sharing them with our grandkids. Who can resist "Chicken Heart", "Tonsils", and "Go Karts"?

Replaced my LP collection with this CD, the LP was worn out and wanted to hear his comedy in my car.

There's not enough stars for this CD. There's not a bad moment on it. This, 200 M.P.H. and "Why is There Air," are his top 3 for my money. Growing up in a house where censorship was a byword, Cosby was one comedian I could always listen to unsupervised-with good reason. The routines are so real. Even in the late '60s, I was promised all the ice cream I could eat following a throat operation. At age 10 I heard "A Christmas Carol," on the radio, and Marley's ghost was easily as scary as Cosby's chicken heart. I was spooked by that for years after. Cosby could find where we all live-and make it funny beyond words. I had to grow into the Sheldon Leonard bit. It turns out he was a radio actor best known for appearing on the Jack Benny show. Once I got that clear, even that routine became funnier.

Just as funny today as it was 33 years ago ~ Bravo for the timeless Bill Cosby ~ I even bought another for my big brother :-)